Thinking About Photography
Dedicated to expanding our ideas about photography
Kevin McCollister

©Kevin McCollister, No More Names
East of West LA
It doesn’t happen everyday but the reaction I like best to my photos is “Is this Los Angeles?” Somewhat surprisingly, this incredulity remains possible when photographing in large areas of the city. Although I have lived here for more than thirty years, I still have expectations inside my own head regarding what LA is supposed to look like versus what I see when I travel into the city’s huge sprawl of working class neighborhoods. In my experience, blue collar L.A. is terribly under-appreciated for its rough daytime beauty and lonely late night charms. And playing against these expectations is what a lot of my photography is about.

©Kevin McCollister, December 4th, 2016

©Kevin McCollister, Alvarado Apartment Building
Would I even own a camera if I didn’t see Los Angeles as having such a rich visual territory to record? I’m honestly not sure. Cameras have been stalwart, almost magical mechanisms for more than a hundred years but it seems that something equally wonderful is needed from this world that is often far from magical.

©Kevin McCollister, Beverly Boulevard

©Kevin McCollister, Psychic on La Cienega

©Kevin McCollister, Jesus Blessing Virgil Avenue from a Lottery Ticket